I didn't watch this year's MTV Video Music Awards. From reports, Kanye West was nominated for five awards but didn't win any. Here's raw footage of his rant. Can someone provide more background on this? I'm not understanding why this is that a big of a deal to him.
This is not the first time West has spazzed out in public. It's so unprofessional and denigrates his talent. West is not the best rapper or hip-hop artist. He sells truckloads of albums and that should be enough for him. Common is a far better rapper than Kanye yet he did not react this way when he's been shut out of well-ddeserved awards.
When an artist creates to win awards, we end up with the so-called music we have today. Anyhoo, somebody fill me in if I missed a salient point behiind the VMAs and Kanye's public meltdown.
By the time of his passing, he was considered amongst the world’s greatest composers and musicians. The French government honored him with their highest award, the Legion of Honor, while the government of the United States bestowed upon him the highest civil honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He played for the royalty and for the common people and by the end of his 50-year career, he had played over 20,000 performances worldwide. He was The Duke, Duke Ellington.
Edward Kennedy Ellington was born into the world on April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C. Duke’s parents, Daisy Kennedy Ellington and James Edward Ellington, served as ideal role models for young Duke, and taught him everything from proper table manners to an understanding of the emotional power of music. [MORE]
If you don't know who this man is, you should. I'll blog about him in a later post. For those of you who do know who he is, let's hear about in a comment. Peace.
We are fast approaching the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. If you have not seen Spike Lee’s documentary “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts”, you are not aware of the story behind the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The film is 4 hours and 16 minutes long.
I was struck by the shabbiness involved in constructing the eye-walls, not levees, that gave way when the waters became too strong. Too many people died needlessly. The victimization of News Orleans residents at the hands of FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and the United States government is shameful.
Because of the formally large Black population in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina victims are most often pictured as Blacks. Hurricane Katrina definitely wasn’t only a Black thing. There were some angry white folks in the documentary and some of them had guns. I got a big chuckle out of the guy that heckled Vice-President Cheney. The gentlemen who spoke of the oil revenue owed New Orleans residents and the temporary show of recovery when Cheney visited was incredible.
The depth and breadth of this documentary is amazing. If you haven’t seen this film, do so right away. If you have seen it, see it again. I caution you that some of the bodies floating in the water or along the side of the road were disturbing so you may not want young kids to see the film. As shocking as the visuals are, you must remember that these things actually happened.
I pray daily for the survivors and that Blacks will return to New Orleans and not relinquish their property to land-grabbers. More important, the rich history of New Orleans should never be lost.
P.S. Click the photo above to purchase the DVD. Do not purchase the DVD through the HBO website, you will pay twice as much.
It was just a matter of time until the infectious humor of Steve Harvey and his crew captured the hearts, minds and ears of the most listeners throughout the United States and a few countries. Through humor, Harvey frequently puts a common sense spin on real life issues. I'm looking forward to waking up with Steve again in the morning; you should try it too.
I distinctly remember hearing that James Brown song in the mornings on my way to school and in the afternoons on my way home. That was “back in the day” as the kids say now. I was too young to really understand its significance back then, but I do “get it”now.
Almost forty years later, do Black folk really believe that song or was it just lyrics over a tight beat? If we are truly Black and proud, why in the year 2007 do we continue to have conversations about light skin vs. dark skin and good hair vs. bad hair?
Inarguably, there are realities beyond our control and history that cannot be changed. We can make tremendous change, however, if we would simply stop perpetuating self-hatred, negativity and ignorance. One person at a time; no mass marches, rallies or boycotts required.
BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL - AS LONG AS IT'S TAMABLEBy Nicole Sealey
In response to the question, do Black women who wear their hair in its natural state do so for genuine political reasons?, Talitha Coverson, a recent FAMU graduate, said, "In the 1960s and 70s the political statement was defiance and recognition of Black beauty. Today, it does serve as a political statement; however, it is more indirect not necessarily intentional, but by all means the end result is highly political." With some exceptions, prior to and following the 1960s and early 1970s, there really was no such philosophy as "Black is Beautiful." The very concept, in terms of Black and White thought, was in itself an oxymoron. Black was far from beautiful and Black attributes even further. In popular "beauty culture", natural Black hair was and is perceived as an insignia of inferiority.
The "politics" of Black hair is an extremely controversial subject matter. Black people, for the most part, are as hair-struck as they are color-struck and suffer from as many hair-complexes as they do color-complexes. Black men and women alike have internalized Western notions of beauty, particularly in regards to "good" and "bad" hair. Black males are certainly not exempt from criticism when it comes to Black women's hair. The ways in which Black women desire to -or not to- wear their hair is a direct result of not only centuries of their colonial conditioning, but of Black men's conditioning as well. Essentially, Black men influence beauty culture, particularly Black female hair culture. In general, Black men are mostly attracted to light-skinned, long straight-haired women. Due to Black men's socialized preference, Black women, seeking both approval and love, transform themselves accordingly.
In response to the question, how do Black men influence the ways in which Black women wear their hair?, Rashad Broomfield, a senior at the University of South Florida, answered "In general, women do their hair to reflect what men want and vice versa." Black women seem to bear the brunt of these racist superficial Eurocentric standards. In Hair Matters: Beauty, Power, and Black Women's Consciousness, author Ingrid Banks notes, "What is deemed desirable is measured against white standards of beauty, which include long and straight hair (usually blonde), that is, hair that is not kinky or nappy." To live up to these standards -or rather limitations- of beauty, Black women, unconsciously enthused, straighten/perm or hot comb their hair. Black women's preoccupation with Eurocentric beauty culture is reflected in, not only the amounts of bleaching products that Black women purchase, but also in the sales of hair straightening merchandise (i.e. African Pride, Dark & Lovely, Just 4 Me, Soft & Beautiful, et cetera).
There is a lot of power in words and greater politics in vocabulary and the meaning of language. The Brand names of the previously mentioned straightening agents suggest, African/Black inadequacy. The Brand name African Pride is a critical paradox. How can one take pride in their culture, yet seek ways in which to abandon and/or undermine it? Dark & Lovely insinuates that if one is in fact "Dark," since Blackness is a characteristic of otherness/ugliness, there is a slight hope that they can be a tad "lovely" by straightening their hair. Just 4 Me is neither for me nor my Black/African sisters because it censures rather than celebrates natural Black hair. Natural Black hair has been and is already Soft and Beautiful. There is no need for chemically false softness or socialized beauty.
These agents reiterate and illustrate a black/white dichotomy wherein white is the standard by which people of color, Black people in particular, are critically and aesthetically assessed. Ayanla D. Byrd and Lori L. Tharps, authors of Hair Story: Untangling the roots of Black hair in America, comments "The pervasiveness of what bell hooks terms th[e] 'dull dish that is mainstream White culture' has succeeded in keeping many people unaware of the… unique culture of Black hair." Although the majority of Black women who have chemically processed hair have from a very young age had their hair chemically "treated," most Black women who chemically "treat" their hair claim that they do so for both "manageability" and "versatility;" however, their argument is misleading because at such young ages one generally is not afforded the opportunity of choice and if one made such a choice it would be reflective of and influenced by their peers. Therefore, they cannot know how manageable and/or versatile their hair, in its natural state, really is. Furthermore, they cannot argue that it is their "personal choice" when in fact they were not given a choice and if so were not cognizant of the choice chosen.
When asked, do Black women who wear their hair in its natural state demonstrate that they are more "conscious" than the average Black woman?, Nyota Lormine, a junior at the University of South Florida, replied "In a way they do, but at the same time there are those sisters that do it for fashion. Some chemically processed sisters are "conscious," but they choose not to take themselves out of that particular prison for "manageability." Nonetheless, the straightening of Black hair does not necessitate nor indicate lower levels of "consciousness." Black people, Black women specifically, must understand the justifications, implications, and ramifications of chemically processing their hair. Historically and inadvertently, hair has been a tool used to justify African otherness, which subsequently warranted enslavement and later disenfranchisement. Due to the above mentioned historical context, natural Black hair is indicative, consciously or unconsciously, of a political/subversive agenda. Black hair is not only an indictment of mainstream beauty mores, but also symbolizes self-confidence. Black women who wear their hair naturally tend to exude higher levels of self-assurance.
When asked, what does wearing your hair natural mean to you?, Heru Holloway, a former FIU student commented, "It is an expression of self. It is also rooted in an acceptance of who I am mentally. Being that standards of beauty are Eurocentric, for me wearing my hair naturally is a conscientious undertaking." Traditionally, Western beauty mores have been utilized to excuse the treatment of Africans by Europeans. Although standards of beauty are such that they exclude African/Black people, being knowledgeable of these artificial and biased standards and recognizing that Black, in its natural state, is, in fact, beautiful allows for a paradigm shift -or dissolution- that includes all people. This very necessary paradigm shift, develops and gains momentum with every kinky, curly, wavy, and nappy natural.
Okay, let’s kick this blog off in tribute to two generations of cool Black men. That would be the honorable Harry Belafonte and Common. Now I ain’t making no secret of my thing for Common. Way too much hotness! He is handsome and fine but first and foremost he is humble and intelligent.
I don’t know whose idea it was to pair these two awesome gentlemen but that was excellent. From this experience with Mr. Belafonte, I do hope that Common realizes his true gift and his ability to make change in the world. I’d like to see him return to his straight underground hip-hop roots I do also understand that each of us must evolve and hopefully grow in the process.
Before I noticed how fine he is I dug his lyrics on his raps. The brother is deep. He gave me a deeper appreciation for the Minister Louis Farrakhan and powerful positive messages that I missed in the recent past. This blog is about celebrating Black folks and prayerfully educating and entertaining in the process. Let’s see if this works. I’ll do a few posts on Common’s lyrics that you may have missed. Holla at a sister and let me know what you think.
For the most part, I related Harry Belafonte as being Shari’s dad. I had no idea of his involvement in civil rights and activism until recent years. He is a down brother and still as handsome as he was in Carmen Jones with Dorothy Dandridge.
I advise everyone to read the EBONY article on these two gentlemen. Belafonte took me to a different place. I felt as though I was seated at the foot of an elder and trying to absorb all the knowledge he released.
One of the key points Belafonte touches and I hope it’s not lost on folks, is the fact that Blacks were able to accomplish so much in the sixties because their role models --- Paul Robeson, Dr. Dubois and Jackie Robinson all lived in the Black community. I sincerely believe the abandonment of the Black community by the Black middle and upper class has significantly led to the deterioration of the black power base.
Now little June Bug and Shakisha want to be drug dealers and gang members because that’s what they see where they live. It’s a simple solution but Blacks have become so brainwashed that we don’t see nor have the will to change our plight. Anyhoo, let me get off that soapbox.
He also spoke prolifically of the impact of rap and hip-hop during their infancy. The power to educate while entertaining was strong. Then, the minute the big boys saw that there was money to be made, its origin was eradicated and the music transformed into to something negative. Blacks allowed that to happen. A few benefited financially. The rest of us are doing very little to reverse that cycle.
I don’t want to give away too much on the article. Just check it out in the March 2007 EBONY.
Behind the scenes video of EBONY photo shoot with Harry Belafonte and CommonBehind the scenes photos of the EBONY photo shoot with Harry Belafonte and Common
“The Negro revolution is controlled by foxy white liberals, by the Government itself. But the Black Revolution is controlled only by God.” ---Malcolm X
